Sallie McFague, Blessed are the Consumers: Everything is interconnected. Philosopher Bruno Latour has imagined such a world. Its primary characteristic is that there is no “environment,” no external world that is our playfield. Rather, there is “one world,” a cosmos, a totality of things, all of which are “insiders,” members of the collective who have voice. Hence, “we must connect the question of the common world to the question of the common good.
A reference post, to define what I mean by God. As to the ontological status of God, I’m undecided – or perhaps more precisely, indifferent. Paul Tillich, The Essential Tillich: God is the answer to the question implied in man’s finitude; he is the name for that which concerns man ultimately. This does not mean that first there is a being called God and then the demand that man should be concerned about him.
I love the YouTube channel “Living Big in a Tiny House”. Not only are the houses cool, the New Zealand landscape is stunning. (Makes me envious of @miraz!) Anyone have other tiny house YouTube channels to recommend?
No one needs me to recount the greatness of a living legend like Wendell Berry. I’ll limit myself to describing his impact on my life. I heard of him about twenty years ago through the newsletter/website Christian CounterCulture. The first book of his I read was What Are People For?. But let’s back up for a second. As with many people, my intellectual life began in college. Up to that point, my thoughts and opinions were merely echoes of the adults in my life.
I have mentioned previously that I was raised in a fundamentalist Christian church — and I remained there until my brain completed development in my mid-twenties. It was a church that strongly emphasized separation from the “world” and enforced that separation by creating, as much as possible, a bubble around the members. We were constantly warned about the dangers of too much contact with people outside our church. And they were right!
Sanity Project is a page I’ve set up detailing our effort to turn our backyard into a healthy ecosystem. What started out as a way to document the project turned into an account of how we’ve survived the past two years.
Thanks to @crossingthethreshold for mentioning Practicing Peace in Times of War by Pema Chödrön. I’ve been listening to the audiobook (which is actually edited audio of her lectures) and it’s been refreshing and challenging.
Backyard project updates: Rachel spotted what we think are dragonfly larvae in the pond. She also saw a five lined skink a few days ago. Those are two species we’ve been hoping to attract, so fingers crossed.
Last weekend we planted our fall garden. Mostly greens and herbs.
This is a damn fine hour of stand-up by Stewart Huff, a really underappreciated comic. It’s at my local comedy club - which is in a liberal college town in the heart of deep-red Indiana. You need to know that to understand his opening.
Spicebush swallowtail on orange butterfly weed.
